Bimeler House restoration continues in Zoar

Resting on a network of steel beams, the 655-ton Bimeler House Museum slowly was raised off the ground Tuesday as the next phase began in the process to restore the historic building’s structural integrity.

Resting on a network of steel beams, the 655-ton Bimeler House Museum slowly was raised off the ground Tuesday as the next phase began in the process to restore the historic building’s structural integrity.

Employees of Dingey Movers of Zanesville began work shortly after 9 a.m. as a small group of onlookers watched on the chilly, foggy October morning.

Once the building has been lifted a few feet, a 10-inch thick reinforced concrete slab will be poured under it, and the foundation walls will be rebuilt, strengthened and extended.

Bill Pickard, an archaeologist with the Ohio Historical Society, which owns the Bimeler House, said the work was necessary.

“If something wasn’t done soon, it would have been lost,” he said.

The Bimeler House, built in 1868, is closed to the public because of catastrophic flood damage that occurred in 2005 and 2008.

Floodwaters caused the northwest corner to settle significantly, which led to cracks in the house that could be seen from the exterior.

Work on the restoration began in August. The ground around the house was excavated, and then slots were cut in the exterior stonework so the steel beams could be inserted to level and lift the structure.

Beneath a portion of the building was a cold storage cellar built at the time the Bimeler House was constructed. Its walls were made of hand-cut sandstone blocks quarried locally, Pickard said. One of those blocks weighs 1,000 pounds.

The cellar had a vaulted ceiling that was in a precarious condition, so the historical society made the decision to dismantle it, mark each of the stones, put them on pallets and save them for later reconstruction once the new foundation is in place.

After the lifting process is done, Quality Masonry Construction of Marion will install the concrete pad and rebuild the stone cellar, said Chris Buchanan, project manager for the historical society. The company specializes in historic masonry restoration.

Work on the concrete pad likely will begin next week and should be finished in about two months, Buchanan said.

Next spring, after the Bimeler House has been stabilized, the cosmetic phase of the project will begin, in which the building will be restored to its original appearance.

The project is estimated to cost as much as $700,000. Funding has come from state appropriations through the Ohio Cultural Facilities Commission and grants from the Helen Brach Foundation, the Hoover Foundation, the Ohio and Erie Canalway Coalition, the Heritage Home Association of Tuscarawas County and others.

Funding the restoration is an act of faith on part of those groups, because the future of Zoar is uncertain.

Residents of Zoar are awaiting the results of a study by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on what should be done with the troubled Zoar Levee, which protects the community from flooding. The corps has given the 75-year-old levee a Dam Safety Action Classification I, meaning that the need for repairs is “urgent and compelling.”

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The study is expected to be completed in 2014.

Among the possible options are repairing the levee, relocating the town or demolishing 80 percent of the historic structures, including the Bimeler House.

Jane Mason, director of marketing for the historical society, thinks the investment in the building is worthwhile. “We feel that we can’t wait until the study is done,” she said. “This is a beautiful structure, and it needs to be reopened to the public.”

Zoar Mayor Larry Bell is confident about what decision the Corps of Engineers will reach.

“There is only one option — Zoar will be saved,” he said.

He added that he’s pleased that the Bimeler House is being restored. “It’s good to see the faith that the state of Ohio, the Ohio Historical Society and the foundations have that we will be able to save Zoar.”